On 22 June, angry villagers from at least thirteen panchayat areas gheraoed and protested outside the Block Development Office (BDO) in Deganga, a part of West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. The protestors, some of whom were also students who had helped organise the protests, were demanding that the Block Development Officer show them the list of people who had received Amphan relief funds. The West Bengal government had announced that it will transfer Rs 20,000 each to the 5 lakh families that were affected by the disaster that struck on 20 May.
“The villagers had to first make multiple trips to the BDO office to get their names registered for relief in the first place. A few weeks later, they figured that only those close to the BDO or the local panchayat members had received the direct cash transfer. Others had either not received the fund or only received it partially”, alleged Abhas*, a student from Bengaluru who had come back home due to the COVID-19 lockdown and was one of the protestors.